


don't let it burn us out

by insomnia_anonymous



Series: ain't letting you go [6]
Category: Arrow (TV 2012), The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Dad Barry, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Established Relationship, F/F, Light Angst, Running, The Flash - Freeform, mama bear iris, nora is pissed, nora pushes herself, physical burnout, relationship troubles, xstar
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-23
Updated: 2020-07-23
Packaged: 2021-03-05 03:40:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,033
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25464109
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/insomnia_anonymous/pseuds/insomnia_anonymous
Summary: nora isn't sure if she can forgive mia for thismia just wants to make sure nora is okay
Relationships: Barry Allen/Iris West, Mia Smoak/Nora West-Allen
Series: ain't letting you go [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1680472
Comments: 4
Kudos: 41
Collections: Collection of x-star Works





	don't let it burn us out

**Author's Note:**

> _title is from_ **call you mine** by **the chainsmokers ft. bebe rexha**  
>  also shoutout to **[@gingercanary](https://archiveofourown.org/users/gingercanary)** beta-ing  
> and **[@wishingtree](https://archiveofourown.org/users/WishingTree/pseuds/WishingTree)** beta-ing  
> feel free to send me prompts on my tumblr **[ins0mnia-an0nym0us-au](https://ins0mnia-an0nym0us-au.tumblr.com/)**

Nora was furious. Normally when she got mad at something she could process and move on - it may take a little bitching about or some yelling but she didn’t hold grudges. But this? This could break her relationship with Mia. It was a week later and she was still fuming, the problem pushing itself to the foreground and letting everything else fade.

Even now as she was running, purposefully trying to blow off some steam, it didn’t go away. Nora wondered if she had her chip taken out and really ran if this anger would go away. But now wasn’t the time for that kind of decision, so instead she pushed herself harder and faster at her current non-meta speed.

She had already been going for over an hour and her legs were beginning to feel like jelly, but stopping now didn’t seem possible, not with the fire still burning inside of her. If she didn’t want to do something she might regret – like find Mia and take it all out on her before ending things, then she had to keep going.

Her legs had different plans though, and she found herself slowing her pace. Looking around, she realized that she hadn’t been keeping track of where she was and cursed, coming to a stop on the side of the road.

Unable to stand any longer she sat down and pulled out her phone, clicking to her contact list. She briefly glanced at Mia’s, knowing that she’d come help her in a heartbeat, but something stopped her from pressing it. Biting her lip, Nora felt tears in her eyes and her anger bubbled up again, this time directed at herself for even wanting to call Mia. Shaking her head, Nora quickly dialed a familiar number instead, and as the voice answered on the second ring, she sniffled.

“Daddy, I need you to come get me.”

—— 

Later, back in Central City, Nora was exhausted, showered and changed into something other than her sweaty running clothes. She sat on the couch with her feet in her dad's lap and her upper half leaning against her mom. 

It scared both Barry and Iris how upset their daughter was, but it also scared them how hard she had pushed herself. When Barry had first brought her home she couldn’t even stand without support. It wasn’t healthy, and Nora hadn’t said anything, she just hugged him until he asked if she wanted Iris too, and only then she let him go.

Iris stroked a hand through Nora’s hair as Barry continued to rub her legs, knowing exactly what kind of physical pain his daughter was experiencing. Their eyes met for a moment as Nora played with the hem of her old hoodie before Iris decided to try to figure out what happened.

“Honey, I need you to tell me something - anything about what happened.” Iris spoke softly to her daughter, a hand still stroking through her hair as the other reaching down to grab one of Nora’s hands.

“It’s gonna sound silly,” Nora murmured, gripping back tightly.

Seeing their daughter so insecure, red-eyed and conflicted was heartbreaking, she somehow seemed smaller than normal - which was a feat in itself considering how small she already was. 

“Hey, _**nothing** _you feel is ever silly to us, especially if it makes you react like this.” Barry reassured her firmly, reaching over for her other hand to hold.

Nora nodded. “I found something out about Mia, and it made me angry, really angry,” Nora trailed off, eyes focusing on a point on the wall.

Barry saw Iris immediately go into protection mode, almost curling over Nora with her body. 

“Hey, did she hurt you?” Iris’s hand that was stroking through Nora’s hair moved down to hold her chin.

“No, not-no, not physically and she didn’t like, cheat on me either,” Nora clarified looking up at her mom. “I just don’t get why she didn’t tell me.”

Iris watched as Nora’s brows furrowed and lips trembled. They tried to think of what could’ve been revealed that was so upsetting but nothing came to mind, and Barry finally asked. “Nora, what did you find out?” The grip on his hand tightened momentarily before loosening.

“You remember those stories you used to tell me about that Green Arrow guy?” Nora watched her father shrink a little but nod. “And you guys know there’s a new one in Star City, right?” Nora watched as her parents tried to put the two together but didn’t connect the dots. “I don’t think I ever told you Mia’s full name either,” Licking her lips Nora spoke. “Her name is Mia Smoak-Queen.”

Barry’s eyes widened and Iris sucked in a breath. “She’s Oliver’s?” Barry whispered his voice hoarse, watching as Nora nodded.

“I didn’t even know her last name at first, she was always so mysterious about everything and now I know why,” Nora said, wincing as she sat up from her place against Iris. “At least, not until a little while ago,” Flushing Nora tried to avoid the part where Mia started to open up to her after their first time sleeping together. “I didn’t think anything of it really, I was excited for her to meet you guys,” She shrugged. “But then last week - ”

Cutting herself off, Nora groaned as she moved her feet out of her dad’s lap to let them fall to the ground, sitting up between her parents. Barry flashed around and the coffee table was close enough so that Nora’s legs were resting on it with a pillow under them, ice-packs wrapped in towels on top of them, Nora didn’t even blink as the yellow flash of lightning lit up the room, her dad then settling back down next to her.

“The ice will help,” Barry gently brushed some hair from Nora’s face, and Nora smiled at her dad before sighing. 

“Last week was when I discovered she took up her dad’s mantle of being the Green Arrow, and I know you guys probably think I shouldn’t be mad about it but-,”

Iris cut her daughter off. “You have every right to feel whatever you’re feeling, and I’m sure you have a reason for feeling the way you do.”

Nodding, Nora continued. “I was planning on telling her about my powers and inviting her to come meet you guys,” Nora spoke quietly with eyes on her lap. 

Nora’s lips wobbled at how vulnerable she was making herself to Mia, how much she had made herself vulnerable to Mia. She was putting her trust in someone she thought was worthy of it but she had been wrong.

“She didn’t even tell me herself either, I found out by accident. Which is even more infuriating – I just got so angry, I’ve never felt that mad before,” Nora rubbed her face with her hand. “I tried to take my mind off of it, process, think it through. But nothing worked so I went running, but then that didn’t even help, and the next thing I know my legs are giving out and I have no idea where I am.”

Iris and Barry shared another look over their daughter’s head. They hated seeing Nora this way, hiding her hurt with anger because of how much she truly cared for Mia. They also knew that being a vigilante was a dangerous lifestyle and Mia was most likely hiding it to protect Nora.

Both Barry and Iris had told their fair share of lies in order to protect the people they love over the years. Barry even lied to Iris in the beginning about being The Flash to protect her thinking it was for her own good.

“Does Mia know who you are?” Iris asked Nora, rubbing at her back.

Nora’s brow furrowed as she thought about this trying to understand what her mom meant.

“What I mean honey, is that for you, superheroes and vigilantes are all normal. We told you bedtime stories about the Green Arrow, Supergirl, and your dad, but does Mia know that?” 

Iris watched as Nora’s eyes widened in realization, she was finally catching up to their line of thinking.

“She probably thinks you’re a civilian like everyone else around her and doesn’t want to drag you down in anything illegal or dangerous.”

“I mean my last name is West-Allen,” Nora pointed out, looking at Iris. “Her parents had to have told her stories about you guys!”

“Maybe,” Barry shrugged. “Or maybe not. Oliver was dead when we told you his name, they might have only referred to me as The Flash,” Barry countered and watched his words sink in. “I have never told you anyone’s real name without their permission or before it was public knowledge.” Barry spoke very seriously about his friends alter-egos and watched as Nora took this in.

“Oh.” Nora leaned back against the couch as she thought. So, Mia really thought she was protecting her from some sort of double-life. 

Iris was about to open her mouth when there was a frantic knocking on the front door, echoing through the room. She looked at Barry, but he only shrugged, as much at a loss as she was. “I’ll go see who that is.” 

Standing, Barry went to look through the peephole as more knocking happened and then paused. Before the person could knock again, he opened the door and Mia’s voice filled the living room.

“Right, hi, Mr. Allen. Or is it Mr. West-Allen?” Mia sounded nervous and somewhat frantic. “Uh, either way, nice to meet you and I really hope you have the answer to this – have you seen Nora?”

Barry took in the state of the girl in front of him, windswept hair, frantic eyes, rocking from one foot to another as though she couldn’t keep still. Looking behind her, he could see a motorcycle and realized that Mia had probably driven the entire way from Star City hoping to find Nora.

“Sorry, I forgot to say sorry for dropping by unannounced,” Mia spoke up again, filling the uncomfortable silence. “I’m just worried because Nora wasn’t in class today and nobody from her dorm has seen her and she won’t answer my calls, so I’m hoping she’s either here or spoken to you guys about where she went.”

“She’s here, she called us late last night and I went to pick her up,” Barry watched as Mia almost went limp with relief, turning his head to look at Nora and Iris. “Do you want to come in?” He asked after seeing Iris nod and stepped back as Mia awkwardly wiped her feet on the doormat outside, shoving her hands in her jacket pockets, keeping her eyes down.

“I don’t think she wants to see me,” Mia mumbled. “I just wanted to make sure she was okay.”

Once more he looked over to Iris and Nora, waiting for a sign of what to do, and this time Nora nodded“Actually, she does want to see you. Come in.” Barry tilted his head toward the two women and Mia jerked up in surprise, leaning forward to see the two women before shifting back out. “C’mon, you're letting the air out!” Barry made a face. “Oh no, I sound old."

“You are old, Dad!” Nora called from the sofa, watching as Mia stepped in and moved out of the way of the door, letting Barry close it behind her.

“I think your dad and I will give you two a minute,” Iris said, kissing Nora on her forehead before standing and moving toward the kitchen, meeting Barry halfway and grabbing his hand.

They disappeared into the other room, and Mia stayed standing by the door. Watching as she kept glancing toward her but never for more than a moment, her hands still in her jacket pockets, she rocked backward and forward and Nora couldn’t help but smile. “I’ll have to shout at you if you stay over there.”

Mia shuffled forward, hands still in her pockets. Separated from her by the coffee table, she looked down at Nora’s legs propped up on the coffee table.

“I blew my legs out, at least that’s what my dad says.” Nora shrugged.

“Oh, uh, is that a running thing?” Mia furrowed her brow as she glanced at her.

“I’m not sure, I think anyone can do it but runners probably do it more often.” Nora hypothesized, and Mia nodded.

They stayed in a somewhat awkward silence for a minute.

“I told my parents.” Nora broke the silence. 

Mia’s head swiveled up. 

“You don’t have to worry, I realized something by talking to them. I think you should come over here and sit with me.”

“I don’t-”

Cutting Mia off before she could continue, Nora gave her a firm look.

“I can’t get up and chase you, so please Mia, sit down.” Nora watched as Mia considered the words before finally joining her on the couch.

“Why’d you tell them, I begged you not to tell anyone.” Mia whispered hoarsely, her hands on her knees.

Nora turned slightly to face Mia. “Because my parents aren’t normal either.” Nora breathed in through her nose before continuing. “Did you ever hear stories about The Flash?” 

Mia nodded in response. 

“I’m guessing you never knew The Flash’s real name?” 

Mia shook her head.

Nora couldn’t help but let a familiar term of endearment slip at the confused look. “Babe, I grew up on bedtime stories of the Green Arrow, the heroic Oliver Queen.” 

Mia’s head whipped up and her eyes found Nora’s. 

“Yeah, I only put it together when you told me your last name, but you obviously never got the civilian alter-egos in your stories.” 

“So, you knew who my dad was?” Mia swallowed.

“Yeah, didn’t figure out about the whole Arrow thing until last week, that was a real discovery.” Nora smirked as Mia winced at the reminder.

“The Flash though,” Mia looked over toward the kitchen where Barry and Iris were washing some dishes.

“Yeah, fastest man alive,” Nora grinned, leaning in and whispering. “He’s also a **huge** dork. But he’s the best dad.”

Mia sat there quietly, taking it all in – she had wanted to protect Nora from all of this, to keep her as far from it as possible. She was the one thing in her life that hadn’t been tainted by memories of her father. Some of them were good memories, but most of them were burdens, and for a brief moment Mia felt jealousy burning in the pit of her stomach. 

Nora still had her father, and Mia didn’t. 

Taking a deep breath through her nose, Mia continued to watch Barry and Iris do the dishes, acting like a normal couple and talking quietly to one another. It made her wonder if her parents were ever like that or if all the stories of heartache were the only moments they had together.

“Hey,” Nora reached over and grabbed one of Mia’s hands. “You okay?”

Clearing her throat as she took her eyes away from Barry and Iris, Mia nodded. “Yeah, just, not what I was expecting.”

“Neither was I, but like I said before, this whole thing made me realize something,” Nora watched as Mia braced herself for the worst. “Well, my parents made me realize something anyways. You didn’t know who I really was. You were probably trying to keep me safe, to protect me from this other life of yours.” Mia wasn’t sure how she felt about being so easy to read by her girlfriends’ parents but Nora pressed forward. “I was so angry at you, beyond angry, I was furious. But then they explained it to me and all that anger kind of just… went away.”

Mia felt the tension in her body start to fade and a glimmer of hope appeared. “So, you aren’t mad anymore?” Mia asked softly.

Pursing her lips, Nora replied, “I mean, I’m still upset you kept something from me, but you had the best intentions and you’ve been so open about everything else that I  **needed** to know.” Nora tilted her head in thought. “So, I’m not mad anymore.”

Mia let out a breath she didn’t realize she had been holding before laying her head down on Nora’s shoulder. “This past week has been miserable without you,” she mumbled into Nora’s neck, enjoying the feeling of Nora’s fingers running through her hair.

“You can’t just pass out on top of me.” Nora felt Mia relaxing against her and jostled her a little, causing a huff against her neck. “You still have to meet my mom.” Suddenly the tension was back, and Nora cackled. “You did well with my dad earlier, babe, what’s wrong?”

“I was a little high on adrenaline from the fear you might have been kidnapped or killed or injured, lost, or I don’t know!” Mia had pulled back now, whispering furiously. “I didn’t care if he didn’t like me because then I would know where you were!”

Nora looked at Mia lovingly. “That’s almost romantic.”

“I think it’s pretty romantic,” Barry spoke up from behind Mia, who jumped in her seat. “For the record though, I do like you. Just not when you upset my daughter.” Winking at Mia, he moved over to the open armchair and sat down with a groan.

Iris walked in a moment later, eyeing the girls before asking, “All fixed?”

“We talked it out.” Nora nodded and watched in delight as Iris approached Mia, who stood up to meet her.

“I don’t **ever** wanna get a call like that from my baby ever again,” Iris eyed Mia up and down before smiling. “It’s nice to meet you though, she’s said such great things about you,” Iris continued as she moved to sit on Barry’s lap.

Mia seemed frozen for a moment before sitting slowly back down next to Nora.

“Thanks Mom, you broke her.” Nora nudged Mia, who belatedly shook her head.

“Just doing my job, honey,” Iris chuckled.

Barry just shook his head, his arms around Iris’s waist. This wasn’t how he expected to meet his daughter's girlfriend or Oliver’s daughter, but then again – when had his life ever gone according to plan?


End file.
